A comprehensive snapshot of weekly mortgage applications was little changed as continued weakening in refinance activity offset an increase in purchase business.
A less than 1 percent seasonally adjusted decline from a week earlier was recorded for the Market Composite Index during the seven days ended Sept. 22.
Even without applying seasonal adjustments to the index,
the volume of retail residential loan applications completed will still down a percent compared to last week’s report.
A survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association that covers more than three quarters of
all applications was the source of the statistics.
MBA reported a 4 percent decline for refinance applications from the week ended Sept. 15 — when refinance business was also lower — as refinance share thinned to 50.8 percent from 52.1 percent.
Refinance share has been slashed from 62.7 percent the same week a year ago.
Unlike the weakening in refinance activity, applications for loans to finance a home purchase
increased a seasonally adjusted 3 percent from a week earlier. Even without considering seasonal factors, purchase-money activity ascended 2 percent and was 4 percent higher than in the week ended Sept. 23, 2016.
Applications for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration made up 9.6 percent. FHA share was more narrow than 9.9 a week earlier and 10.2 percent a year earlier.
Department of Veterans Affairs loan applications represented another 10th of total applications. VA share was thinner than 10.1 percent in the last report and far more thin than 11.9 percent this week in 2016.
Adjustable-rate mortgage applications accounted for 6.5 percent of the week’s total applications.
A decline was recorded compared to 6.8 percent a week prior. But ARM share has widened from 4.4 percent in the same seven days last year.
The jumbo-conforming spread was a negative 5 basis points, the same as in the last report and wider than a negative 2 BPS in the report from a year ago.
